And then I set my hair on fire

Or - why I shouldn't be allowed near a barbecue grill.

We spent yesterday up at our place on Lake LBJ, which was a lot of fun, as usual.

At about 3:00, the kids started getting punchy and hungry, so I decided to get lunch/dinner on its way. B and his dad were busy mucking about with the boat and the boat lift, so I took it upon myself to light the grill.

Growing up, I became a master of starting the grill at my parents' house one of those great chimney devices. And now we have a propane grill at the house, which lights with a push of a button and a big whoosh.

But my only experience with using lighter fluid and charcoal comes from watching my grandfather, may he rest in peace, who used charcoal and gasoline. When we heard the rumble of charcoal hitting the grill and saw my grandfather head for the garage with that glint in his eyes, my grandmother would herd all the kids in the house. Once the whoosh and the fireball had died down, she'd sound the all-clear, and we'd be allowed back outside.

Of course, at some point my grandfather would decide that the flames weren't high enough, and he'd head for the gas can again. We'd get shooed back inside while he risked his life by throwing gasoline on a live fire. It was always great fun to watch from the relative safety of the house.

My parents even gave my grandfather one of the chimney contraptions, but he used with with gasoline. Instead of a fireball, he'd have this glorious column of flames.

But yesterday I figured I could handle lighting a simple fire in the grill. I neatly stacked the charcoal and coated it with lighter fluid. I twisted a taper and stuck it in the coals, and lit it with one of those long lighter thingies.

Perfect.

Except 10 minutes later the fire had gone out. So I sprayed on more lighter fluid and reached for the lighter. I poked it through the grill rack and turned it on.

And then WHOOOOSSHHHH

a huge fireball exploded out of the grill and into my face. I turned away almost immediately, but I still caught a lot of the flame in my face. The fireball died down right away, and I patted out my hair, which drifted away in singed tufts.

I stomped off and sat down on a blanket to pull myself together. I was furious at myself for having been so stupid, embarrassed at having done such a dumb thing in front of our kids and our friends, and scared about what might have happened. B came over to make sure I was OK and to reassure me that everything was all right. He then told me that fireballs like that don't do a lot of damage, and that nothing terrible would have happened. I told him that my hair could have caught on fire, and he said that it wouldn't have happened. When I said, "It happened to Michael Jackson!" B realized that it was too soon to talk me down.

My neighbor offered me a beer to calm me down, and when I refused she offered a Xanax, which I also refused. I spent the rest of the day feeling a little shaky but otherwise OK.

As a result of the fireball, I'm missing a spot of hair in the front, but not enough that you'd notice. My right eyebrow is a bit singed, and all the hair on my right hand is gone. I also think I burned out all the hairs inside my nose, which still feels tingly and strange today. But no severe burns and no major damage.

I've definitely learned my lesson - I can't be trusted around fire.

The Fourth

We spent our Fourth of July at the lake place. And unlike our last trip, no one ended up in the emergency room at the end of the day. Having B on crutches for the day made things a little more challenging, but we managed. He was still able to man the grill and turn out enough hamburgers and hot dogs to feed a small army.

The kids swam and swam until they turned blue, warmed up in the sun, and then swam some more. The lake traffic died down enough at the end of the day that B put the boat in and pulled the kids behind the boat on the tube. We finished off the day with sparklers and bottle rockets and lots of noise.

Today I'm dealing with tired, cranky kids. But that just means everyone will be taking naps this afternoon, myself included.

And now some pictures, in no particular order.

Elizabeth fell asleep in my lap while we were sitting on the diving board watching B pull the kids in the inner tube. I managed to get her onto a blanket without waking her up. She slept for almost two hours in the shade.

Watching the bottle rockets go off. They aren't as spectacular when it's still light out.

The scurvy pirate crew in the boat.

Elizabeth loves being at the lake. I got her in the lake once, which she did not like. She spent the rest of the time splashing in the wading pool on the dock.

For the first time, Campbell got in the lake. He spent the day climbing up and down the ladder on the dock and splashing. I took him swimming once in the lake, which he wasn't so sure about. I think we'll have him swimming with me by the end of the summer.

Great day, bad end

A few things you should know going before I get into what happened yesterday. First, my husband was a competitive diver - springboard and platform, not SCUBA. He dove for the University of Texas and was on two NCAA champion teams. He also travelled as part of the US diving team. Once his competitive career was over, he coached diving for a few years.

Second, we have what we call "The Lake Place," which isn't as glamorous as it sounds. It's a tree-shaded lot on Lake LBJ, just outside of Kingsland. Our goal is to someday build a house on it, but right now all it has is a covered boat dock, a boat, and a diving board. Even though it's rustic, I love going up there. No matter how hot it is, the water always feels great, and the big pecan tree provides shade all day long.

Yesterday we went up to the lake and had a great time. B's brother and his wife were in town from Louisiana, and the girls love horsing around with Uncle D and Aunt A. We had invited some friends up, and they brought their jet-ski, which the girls got to ride on. Campbell, after hating going in the boat last summer, loved his first ride this year. He sat in the bow of the boat, with Uncle D holding onto his life jacket, yelling "Faster, daddy! Faster!" the whole time. When we pulled into the dock, Campbell's hair was standing straight up, and he had the biggest grin on his face.

It was a very nice, very relaxing day. I was actually able to read and knit in the shade.

At the very end of the day, B hopped up on the diving board to jump in one last time before we started packing for the return trip. He bounced a few times, and then things went wrong. The best we can figure, his left foot slipped off the side of the board, which then rebounded and caught his right foot and gave it a good snap.

Uncle D fished B out of the water, pale and shaking and cursing a blue streak. I pulled a bag of ice out of the cooler and packed his foot, which was swelling as we watched, in it. Then everyone scrambled to pack up the floaties and rafts and gear. With help from B's dad and brother, we got him loaded in the car and hightailed it into town. It was the longest hour-long drive I've ever made.

When we got to the house, I took the kids inside and got them settled while B waited in the car. As soon as Uncle D and Aunt A arrived, B and I left for the ER (the Heart Hospital ER totally rocks, BTW).

They gave B some high-octane pain meds and took x-rays. While we were waiting for the results, B said that if his foot was actually broken, it would be the first time in 15 years that he's had a clear diagnosis and treatment plan for any of his injuries.

As if on cue, the doctor walked up to say that there were no broken bones. B managed to mangle his tendons pretty well, which is almost worse than having a broken bone. Instead of having 6-8 weeks in a cast, B now has an unknown number of weeks on crutches with rehab and PT.

We got home at 10:30 pm to find the house spotless. Uncle D and Aunt A had convinced the girls to clean up their rooms and the living room. I'm thinking of having them move in with us.

And to add insult to injury, Ella woke this morning with the stomach bug the rest of us have already had.

It's going to be a long day. just.kill.me.now.

A day of great bravery

Bravery of the little kid kind, that is.

We spent yesterday at the lake with friends, which was wonderful, as always. I love watching all the kids floating around in the water on their noodles, screeching every time a boat makes huge waves for them.

Several notable things happened yesterday, though, that made it particularly memorable.

First, Lily, who isn't the biggest fan of the water, decided that she loved being in the lake. It started out when she agreed to let me swim her over to the big raft that's anchored off the dock. I grabbed a noodle and we paddled over to the raft together, but there was a line of kids waiting to clambor on, so we floated around for a while. She had a death grip on me and the noodle, but she was out there, floating around, without screaming her head off. She just got braver from there. I looked up at one point to see her floating around in Daniel's little inflatable boat with Jean at the helm. Later, she was out on a raft with Granddaddy. Then she discovered that she could hold onto the raft Brandon was lounging on and make it move by kicking. By the end of the day we had to drag her out of the water. She was crying that she wanted to swim some more. Such a change from last time we were at the lake and she wouldn't even get in the water.

Molly had a similar day. Usually she is content to hang out in the hammock with Lily or splash in Campbell's little pool on the dock. But yesterday she floated around in the water on a raft with her mom. It was so cool to see both her and Lily make such a giant leap in their comfort with the water.

Finally, Luke surprised the heck out of us all. Back in June he started copying Ella's giant leaps out to the floating raft - about 4 feet from the dock. Lisa was stunned that he had attempted it - he's not really a risk taker. Now he jumps to the raft without even thinking about it. A few weeks after that, he worked his way up to jumping off the diving board without someone below to catch him. Lisa and I were talking about whether Luke would ever follow Ella's example in jumping off the roof of the dock. Lisa just didn't think he would. But towards the end of the day, I looked up to see Luke and Ella up on the roof. Ella counted to three and jumped. Luke hesitated for a moment and then went for it. Lisa was helping Molly with something and missed the great event. Fortunately, Luke gave a repeat performance.

I am so proud of all the kids for the progress they're making at the lake, but especially these three yesterday. We'll have a whole little tribe of water rats by the time the summer is over.